1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to umbrella-type tents and, more particularly, to an improved umbrella-type tent apparatus and method having a novel hub assembly system, a novel bungee cord retainer system for the poles, and a unique tether system for preventing the fabric of the tent shell from sliding too far down the pole as the umbrella-type tent is erected and/or collapsed.
2. The Prior Art
Tents have been well-known throughout history for use as a portable structure designed primarily to protect the inhabitants thereof from the elements. The simplest tent consisted of a flexible sheet of fabric or skins supported above the ground by a central tent pole with the periphery of the fabric held outwardly from the tent pole by a plurality of tent pegs. Such a structure is relatively simple to construct and to transport from place to place. The task of erecting this type of tent can be quite challenging since it involves maintaining the central tent pole in a vertical orientation while pulling the fabric outwardly and securing the periphery of the fabric with the tent pegs. Obviously, such a task requires two or more people in order for this type of tent to be erected in a satisfactory manner and in a reasonable period of time. Another shortcoming of this type of tent is that it customarily had no flooring.
It was recognition of these shortcomings that within the last few decades a new type of tent was created around the principle of an umbrella. This umbrella-type tent structure has the fabric of the tent shell slidably secured to the poles of the umbrella structure so that the step of opening the "umbrella" resulted in the poles being forced outwardly to create the support framework for the fabric enclosure of the tent. An integral fabric floor for the tent structure formed a tension member to restrain the ends of the poles of the umbrella. The poles are pivotally secured at their upper ends to an upper hub assembly and are sufficiently resilient to allow the poles to be formed into an arcuate shape thereby creating a domed appearance for the tent. Customarily, the poles are located in spaced relationship to the outer surface of the tent and are constrained inside narrow fabric loops sewn to the tent shell.
A series of lateral ribs extend outwardly from a center hub assembly with each rib being hingedly affixed to a respective tent pole. The length of the ribs and the location of their hinged attachment to the respective tent poles is such that raising the center hub creates an over center condition to hold the center hub upwardly and to cause the ribs to push the poles outwardly against the restraining action of the tent shell and integral floor. The foregoing action provides an umbrella-type tent that is easily erected and collapsed by the simple step of moving the center hub upwardly to raise the tent and downwardly to collapse the tent. Additional refinements include providing the tent with foldable poles. One common form of foldable pole is one having a plurality of hollow pole segments adapted to be received in an end-to-end relationship to create the extended pole. A bungee cord passing through the lumen of the hollow pole segments holds the pole segments together in this end-to-end relationship while allowing the pole segments to be disengaged and then placed into juxtaposition with the other pole segments. This folding capability enables one to reduce a relatively long tent pole to a shorter bundle of pole segments, the overall length of which is the overall length of the individual pole segments.
While umbrella-type tents have become rather ubiquitous, I have found a number of drawbacks to these types of tents. For example, both the top hub and the center hub, as can be readily observed from the foregoing description, are subjected to significant forces which will cause them to break, particularly hubs that are injection molded from plastic. Another problem is that when the umbrella-type tent is collapsed the fabric loops that engage the tent shell to the poles slide down the tent pole to a position that causes the loop to interfere with the smooth operation of the tent the next time the tent is erected. Customarily, the fabric loop slips below the upper coupling of the segmented tent pole and is thus momentarily snagged thereby. If the fabric loop binds on the tent pole instead of smoothly sliding up the tent pole as the tent is erected, there is a resultant tendency for the person erecting the tent to place excessive force on both the top hub and the center hub in an attempt to overcome this binding resistance of the fabric loop on the pole. This excessive force is also a contributory factor in breakage of the top hub and the center hub. I have also found that replacement of one of these broken hubs is quite complicated and frequently requires special tools to remove and replace the hubs. For example, roll pins or rivets have been used to hingedly secure the tent poles to the top hub as well as the ribs to the central hub, which means special tools are required in order to remove and replace a broken hub.
Another problem I have discovered is that of securing the bungee cord inside a fiberglass tent pole. By comparison, the bungee cord is typically secured inside the hollow lumen of, say, an aluminum tent pole segment, by the simple expedient of tying an overhand knot in the end of the bungee cord. The bulk of the overhand knot against a hollow insert is sufficient to prevent the bungee cord from being pulled through the hollow lumen of the aluminum tent pole. However, a fiberglass tent pole has a much smaller lumen due to the required increase in thickness of the sidewall of the fiberglass tent pole in order to impart to the fiberglass tent pole the necessary strength as compared to an aluminum tent pole. The end result is that there simply is not enough space in the lumen of a fiberglass tent pole to accommodate the knot.
In view of the foregoing it would be an advancement in the art to provide improvements in umbrella tent structures, particularly in the top hub and the center hub thereof and in the tethering of the fabric shell to the tent poles. It would also be an advancement in the art to provide both a top hub and a center hub that is stronger and readily repairable, if necessary, using a simple screw driver. Another advancement in the art would be to provide improvements in foldable fiberglass tent poles, particularly in the mechanism whereby the bungee cord is secured inside the fiberglass tent poles. Such a novel apparatus and method is disclosed and claimed herein.